Snakes for kids?

[boosh96]

My mom and I are thinking about getting my 8-year old brother a snake for Christmas. Of course, he's going to get help caring for the snake, and I'm trying to teach him general snake maintenance and responsibility-type stuff. So what kind of snake would be best for an 8-year old? Right now, I'm leaning towards a Hognose, but I wanted to see what you all thought. Thanks in advance!

[Lankyrob]

Not sure if hognose venom would cause a worse reaction in a kid than an adult but myself i would go down the colubrid route for an 8 yr old.

[SnakeyJay]

Garter or corn... Husbandry is easy, they can take fluxuations in temp and corns are forgiving of handling mistakes. Don't know how garters behave as I haven't had one.

[shaunyboy]

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

Not sure if hognose venom would cause a worse reaction in a kid than an adult but myself i would go down the colubrid route for an 8 yr old.

have to agree with rob mate

cheers shaun

[boosh96]

Another thing-what kind of snakes can live comfortably in a 10-gallon tank? That question is why I've been leaning toward a Hognose or an African House snake, but would either of those snakes be a good choice?

[jdavy]

Originally Posted by boosh96

Another thing-what kind of snakes can live comfortably in a 10-gallon tank? That question is why I've been leaning toward a Hognose or an African House snake, but would either of those snakes be a good choice?

Don't count on an African house snake staying small. I once had one that grew to be 5 feet long.

I wouldn't give a hog to an 8 year old, personally. I have a friend who was bit by one and had an adverse reaction - she keeps FWC and some other halfway crazy stuff...but the reaction she had to this bite seemed to scare her pretty good. Contrary to popular belief, hogs can catch ya with a fang (especially 8 year old sized fingers and hands). I like 'em (used to keep them), but I don't think they're for kids.

Enclosures are cheap, so don't let the fact that you only currently have a 10 gallon tank stop you from getting a corn. You could pick up a big sterilite container that would fit it for about $10, or a 20 gallon reptile tank for about $30.

My vote is the corn snake. They are colourful, easy to handle, tolerant of small errors in husbandry, etc. If an 8 year old is going to get a pet snake, a corn is the way to go.

[KORBIN5895]

Definitely go corn or garter. My first store bought snake was a ribbon snake. I was 12

[stephanbakir]

Cor, hoggie, sand boa etc, best of luck

[whoaxmary]

I'd go with a garter. He'll never be bored - if you've ever read Wayne's posts about how active they are you'll know what I mean. ^.^

[alessia55]

Corn snake, sand boa, or rosy boa are also good choices

[Snakefood]

I vote corn!! I have 5 and my 4 yr old can handle (uber supervised!) my adults (except helios as he's cranky)

[snake man12]

Go with corn snakes. Um and sand boas. If he is ready to take on some responsibility them maybe ball python

[MojoHerps]

I'd go with a corn snake but not a hatchling. I'd get a subadult or an adult since they are not so squirmy and are well established so there will hopefully be no unpleasant surprises.

Adult corns can live comfortably in a 20 long but I thing bigger is a bit better.

I think garters are squirmier, musk more and go off feed in winter more than corns. That can be stressful to a new owner.

[Gungirl]

I vote Corn snake..

[whoaxmary]

Getting a sub adult is a good suggestion.